5 Procreate features I use every day in my work
I always love finding new features in Procreate that speed up my workflow and make the design process easier.
However if you’re teaching yourself as you go along (like I did) it can sometimes take a while to figure these out meaning you lose precious time!
Here are 5 basic features of Procreate I use every day when creating repeating patterns and illustrations and some of them I wish I’d figured out a lot sooner!
Not only will they speed up your workflow they are designed to give you much more flexibility in the design process, meaning edits and tweaks to your artwork are easier later on.
Alpha Lock
What does Alpha Lock Do? When Alpha Lock is selected on a particular layer, any drawing you continue to do on that layer will only show up on the image that was already there, not on the surrounding area.
For example, with the lobster image below, if I select alpha lock, the shading or texture I put on the top will only show up on the lobster and not the surrounding area.
How to activate Alpha Lock: You can find Alpha Lock by tapping a layer in the layers panel. A menu will come up on the side and you can tap to activate Alpha Lock for this layer. (Once it is activated you will see that the background in the layer thumbnail goes checkered to show that it cannot be filled.)
How I use Alpha Lock: The main way I use Alpha Lock is to recolour large sections that are all one colour.
For example in the image below I have each colour on a separate layer. If I wanted to recolour the green lobster section to pink, I would select Alpha Lock, select the new colour I wanted and then select Fill Layer (in the same menu).
If I selected Fill Layer without Alpha Lock, the whole canvas would be filled, but with Alpha Lock selected only the current design in that layer will be filled!
This is a quick and easy way to recolour your patterns or illustrations if you have kept each colour on a separate layer.
Clipping Mask
What does a Clipping Mask do? A clipping Mask works in a similar way to Alpha Lock but with a lot more flexibility! If you activate a clipping mask layer on top of an image you have already drawn, what you draw in the clipping mask layer will only show up on the image on the layer below and not in the surrounding area. You can add multiple clipping mask layers onto one base layer.
How to activate Clipping Mask: You can activate a Clipping Mask by tapping the layer in the layers panel. From the menu, select clipping mask and the layer will now have an arrow that points to the layer below.
How I use Clipping Masks: I use clipping masks all the time when I create patterns, mainly to add details and shading to motifs.
You can see in the image below I have drawn a pattern consisting of whales on one layer and seaweed on another. Above each of these basic layers I have a whole series of clipping masks with texture and shading on each one. This allows me to experiement with these details without modifying the main image.
It is so much more flexible that Alpha Lock as it allows you to keep all the colours and textures separate meaning it would be easy to edit your work later on.
Blend Modes
What are Blend Modes? Blend modes affect how the colours in one layer interact with the layers beneath it. Each blend mode will be different and by playing around you can achieve some really interesting effects!
How to activate Blend Modes: Click the N symbol in the layer you want to alter in the layers panel and scroll through the various blend mode options.
How I use Blend Modes: When using mockups, I always use a blend mode to ensure the pattern I have superimposed onto the mockup looks realistic and blends into the product image. The blend mode I select will depend on the image and the pattern but in most cases for mockups I will select the ‘muliply’ blend mode which ensures the texture from the mockup shows through to make it look much more realistic!
Opacity Scale
What does the Opacity Scale do? The opacity slider affects how opaque your layer is. By default it is 100% opaque but by sliding it down you can make it more transparent meaning the layers below will show through.
How to activate the Opacity Scale: Click the N symbol on the layer you want to alter and slide the slider.
How I use the Opacity Scale: I use the opacity scale for two main purposes: Firstly when I apply texture to the background of a pattern or to the foreground motifs using a clipping mask, I often adjust the opacity if I feel the texture is coming through too strongly. By sliding the opacity down, you can achieve a much more subtle texture.
Secondly, if I’m using a reference photo, I will decrease the opacity of the photo so I can see my drawing more clearly as I trace over the top.
Reference Layer
What does a Reference Layer do? When reference is selected on a layer, it will affect the layers underneath. It will allow you to add colours in a layer underneath that will only colour within the lines you have created in the reference layer above.
How to activate a Reference Layer: You can activate a reference layer by tapping a layer in the layers panel and selecting ‘reference’
How I use a Reference Layer: I don’t often use this feature but when I am creating a pattern where every shape is outlined this comes in very useful! See below this retro floral pattern I created recently.
To colour it, you could simply use the colour drop tool on the same layer. But a much more flexible way to colour this pattern is to make the outline a reference layer. Then on the layer below you can use the colour drop feature as normal but it won’t merge with your lines, meaning it’s easy to recolour the lines and the fill colour later on.
See how in the second photo below when I hide the outline layer what you're left with is the filled colour without the outline on its own separate layer!
So there you have my 5 top Procreate features for beginners.
All of these are essential as I create patterns in Procreate and ensure that colours and layers are kept separate so that I have maximum flexibility for making edits later on!
Let me know in the comments if this was helpful and whether you’d like a part two for some of the more complex features of Procreate!
Thank you for the article. I wasn’t aware of what the reference layer did and it will for sure come in handy at times. I’m going to play around with it.
Thank you for explaining this features. I would like to read a part two to this. 😊